Cluster development procedures are intended to permit residential
development with better designs than could be provided under regulations
applicable to conventional subdivisions. Cluster development approvals
allow variations in the base zone regulations but are not intended
as and do not constitute rezonings.

Preserve the County's rural character by conserving natural
or cultivated open space, including but not limited to farmlands,
woodlands, meadowlands, wetlands, steep slope areas, stream valleys
and wildlife habitat areas.

A cluster development shall include open space, passive recreational
areas and active recreational facilities. See Figures XIV-1 and XIV-3
for minimum standards.[1] Cluster developments shall include one or more active recreational facilities, consistent with the requirements of Figure XIV-3, as a central feature of the project design.

Active recreational facilities, whether intended for cluster
development residents or the general public, shall be designed and
located so as to be easily accessible and highly visible from public
rights-of-way. All recreational facilities, whether active or passive,
shall be integrated fully with the layout of the units in the cluster
development so that all cluster development residents have ready access
to and use of all such facilities.

Active recreational facilities, which are to provide recreational
or community group opportunities for cluster development residents,
may include but are not limited to the following: sports facilities,
playgrounds, equestrian centers, country clubs, health clubs, marinas,
golf courses, amphitheaters, community arts centers, community meeting
centers and community day-care centers.

Where a recreational facility constitutes or includes a use
required in this chapter to be approved by special exception, the
applicant shall obtain a special exception for that use from the Board
of Appeals.

A planting strip of at least 15 feet wide at or near the property
line which shall include two canopy trees, four understory trees of
mixed plant material (deciduous and evergreen) and 10 shrubs per 100
linear feet of buffer;

Cluster open space shall be in areas usable for recreational or community purposes, including passive recreational purposes. It may also include permitted agricultural uses, as described below in Subsection B(5).

Up to 50% of the required cluster open space may be designated
on floodplains, nontidal water bodies or nontidal wetlands if the
cluster open space includes a hiker/equestrian trail system or other
passive recreational area approved by the Planning Commission.

Cluster open space may include permitted agricultural uses.
Use of agricultural lands to meet open space requirements shall be
encouraged when the site contains few significant natural features.
Where the minimum residential lot size in the development is 40,000
square feet or greater, the required open space may be retained in
agricultural use. The open space in agricultural use may be divided
into parcels of 25 acres or more with one dwelling unit located on
each parcel. Dwellings so located within required open space will
count in calculating the overall density of the cluster subdivision.

Public open space. Cluster open space shall be made available for the benefit of all County residents and dedicated to the state or County, unless the Planning Commission, after referral to the appropriate state or County agency, finds that the size, location or type of development, the cost of development or maintenance of such cluster open space or the availability of other public open space would make use by all County residents of the cluster open space undesirable or unnecessary. All areas which are indicated for acquisition in the County Recreation and Open Space Plan or an equivalent state-approved plan shall be required by the Planning Commission to be dedicated. If the Planning Commission finds that the cluster open space is not suitable for dedication based on the above standards, it shall be managed through the premises applicable to private open space in Subsection D below.

Private open space. Private cluster open space shall be protected
by legal arrangements satisfactory to the Planning Commission or its
designee to assure the maintenance and preservation of open space
for its intended purposes. Covenants or other legal arrangements shall
specify ownership of the cluster open space, the method of maintenance,
maintenance fee and insurance arrangements and compulsory membership
and compulsory assessment requirements. Such legal arrangements shall
guarantee that any association formed to own and maintain cluster
open space shall not be dissolved without the consent of the Planning
Commission. The legal arrangements shall also include any other matters
deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of cluster development.

An application for a suburban cluster development shall be reviewed
and approved by the Planning Commission under the procedures applicable
to a preliminary plan of subdivision. The following requirements shall
also apply:

An application shall identify the differences sought from the height,
bulk and dimensional requirements of this chapter and the design standards
of the Subdivision Regulations.[2] Any such difference shall remain within the standards established in Figure XIV-2[3] and is subject to Planning Commission approval. The Board
of Appeals shall have no jurisdiction to grant variances from any
zoning regulation in a cluster development, except for variances on
individual building lots which have been developed and continuously
occupied for a minimum of two years.

The Planning Commission may add conditions to the approval of any suburban cluster development to protect adjacent properties and the neighborhood. All such conditions shall meet the purposes of cluster development in § 297-219. Violation of any condition shall constitute a violation of this chapter and shall be cause for revocation of the cluster development approval or for the revocation or withholding of building, grading or use and occupancy permits.

The cluster development plan and the preliminary plan of subdivision
provides for a total environment and design which are superior, in
the reasonable judgment of the Planning Commission, to that which
would be allowed under the regulations for conventional subdivisions.

Public facilities available to the cluster development, including
sewer facilities, water facilities, school facilities, utilities,
police facilities, fire and rescue facilities, transportation facilities
and parks and recreation facilities, will be adequate to serve the
development.

The Planning Commission may require modification of a proposed cluster development plan, if it finds that by reasonable modification of proposed cluster open space, lots or buildings, the plan will more fully meet the purposes in § 297-219 and the applicant's approved design code, if any.[2]

Editor's Note: Former Subsection C, regarding additional
requirements for approval of a mixed residential cluster development,
which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 3-1-1999
by Ord. No. 99-16.

If an approved cluster development is to be amended by varying the
layout of cluster open space, community or recreational facilities,
lot or block sizes or other features, without amending the approved
design code, if there is a design code, then the applicant may submit
an amendment request, in writing, to the Zoning Officer. The Zoning
Officer shall review and present the amendment request to the Planning
Commission. The amendment request may be approved unless the Planning
Commission finds that the original cluster development is superior
in its design or its relationship to surrounding properties or the
natural environment.

If an approved mixed residential cluster development is to be amended
by altering the approved design code and varying the layout of cluster
open space, community or recreational facilities, lot or block sizes
or other features, the amendment request shall be processed under
the procedures for the initial approval of a mixed residential cluster
development.

If a property with an approved cluster development is rezoned, in whole or in part, then an amendment may be filed to conform to the densities allowed in the new zone. If the amendment will require changes to the approved design code, then the application shall be reviewed under the same procedures applicable to an initial approval. If no changes to the approved design code are required, then the cluster development may be amended in accordance with the procedures in Subsection A.